Chapter 17: Extreme Tug-of-War

Zongfang's presence kept Qiao Suisui's nerves on edge.

She had absolutely no space of her own; she didn't have a single moment of freedom to be alone, whether it was where she went, what she did, what she ate, or even just zoning out. It was suffocating.

Having spent these days "shadowing" him, she had gained a rough understanding of Zongfang's personality. He was an incredibly sharp and suspicious person who did not tolerate defiance.

Once, she witnessed an assistant being kicked out of the Research Center directly for having a disagreement with him. The assistant, refusing to accept this, said he would appeal to the Federation. Zongfang didn't say a word, simply burned the man's research results, and looked down at him from above, calling it all trash.

The enraged assistant lost his mind and transformed into his beast form to attack him. Zongfang just dealt with it leisurely, teasing the man and forcing him to use every trick he had, only to finish him off with a single, light strike.

It was also that time that Qiao Suisui saw his beast form: a silver King Cobra.

After the surveillance was removed, he would check Qiao Suisui's body every day and have people search her room for suspicious items to prevent her from escaping.

Qiao Suisui did not resist, watching everything happen with indifference. Because she was waiting for an opportunity!

Sure enough, after a few times, Zongfang lost interest in such a grand, mobilizing search.

Qiao Suisui knew he was using this method to pressure her and was looking forward to her reaction. He was breaking down her self-esteem by constantly depriving her of her basic rights as a human, then observing her emotional changes with great interest.

Once, he said an assistant's scalpel had gone missing and suspected Qiao Suisui had taken it, so he searched every corner of the entire room.

She watched as he brought people in to ransack her living room, brush the flowers she grew to pass the time onto the floor, step on her bed with his shoes on, and even cut open her pillows to check if sharp objects were hidden inside. The once cozy room was instantly in disarray, trampled into a mess.

Throughout the entire process, he kept his eyes fixed on Qiao Suisui's reaction.

This was a stress test. Beastmen had a strong sense of territory, and he guessed humans were the same. So he used this method to test her, aiming to see how a human would act under extreme circumstances and how they controlled their emotions.

Several times, he discovered that Qiao Suisui could quickly calm down after being angry, which surprised him greatly. One had to know that the rampage factor within beastmen often caused them to lose control; if he could find the secret to controlling emotions in this human, perhaps he could greatly improve beastman rampaging.

However, Qiao Suisui would not let him get his way.

She watched everything indifferently, standing quietly in a corner of the room, as if none of it had anything to do with her.

If someone broke into your room, rummaged through your things, and dirtied or messed up your furnishings, no one would watch it all without emotion. Because this was an instinctive rejection of an invasion of one's territory. But the premise was that it had to be your territory.

She had never for a moment considered this place her territory.

To her, this was just a prison cell decorated to be cozy and comfortable.

Since it was a prison cell, why care about an invasion or not?

Zongfang waited for a long time without seeing a trace of change on her face, and his mood instantly turned foul.

He felt irritable.

This human never followed his expectations.

Yet the more this was the case, the more he wanted to control her.

"Doctor, we've searched everywhere; there's nothing."

Zongfang looked coldly at Qiao Suisui and curled his lips into a smile.

"There is still one place we haven't searched."

"What?" The assistant looked around, not knowing what place he had missed.

"Take off her clothes." He pointed at Qiao Suisui and ordered the assistant.

He saw her pupils flicker; although she still looked at him in silence, her slightly trembling fingertips betrayed her emotions. Zongfang smiled with satisfaction, his eyes filled with excitement.

"What are you standing there for?"

The assistant, named Leinuoer, only regained his senses after being glanced at sideways by Zongfang, and said hesitantly, "Doctor, this... wouldn't that be inappropriate?"

Not to mention that the person in front of them was a noble Ancient Human, he personally did not approve of Doctor Zongfang's extreme research methods, but he had always been under pressure and hadn't expressed it. To strip this human lady naked in front of everyone like this—he really couldn't bring himself to do it.

Leinuoer glanced at the downcast Qiao Suisui, feeling terribly uncomfortable inside.

What a fragile little female, how could she be treated like this?

Zongfang sneered and put on disinfectant gloves.

"Since you don't want the opportunity given to you, then just watch carefully."

He stepped forward, pushed up his glasses, and looked down at Qiao Suisui in front of him.

He took off her outer garment, his cold fingertips touching her skin, and seeing the crack of what could be called panic on her otherwise expressionless face, the sense of wanton destruction in his heart was greatly satisfied.

He used his finger to gently lift her chin, observing her reaction.

"Scared? Or angry? Or both?"

Qiao Suisui closed her eyes.

She was only wearing a dress and a light coat today; now, only a simple-styled dress remained on her body.

She felt a cold hand wrap around her lower back, while the other hand slowly unbuttoned her dress from behind.

She couldn't react, because she knew that as long as she reacted, Zongfang would become even more excited and then intensify his actions.

The man unbuttoned her dress in a slow, methodical manner from top to bottom, and seeing her smooth, snow-white back, his pupils darkened.

His hand, separated by the glove, touched her skin, and his nose caught the faint fragrance of her, making his lower abdomen tighten and his breathing become unstable.

The assistants were all hot-blooded males; at this moment, they were all staring at Qiao Suisui, seeing her small face flushed with anger and her long, slender neck drooping like a swan's, and their blood instantly boiled.

Leinuoer was also staring firmly at her, his gaze obsessively fixed on the precarious shoulder strap on her shoulder.

Zongfang noticed everyone's gaze and was inexplicably angry.

He stepped forward, using his tall body to block Qiao Suisui completely, cutting off the assistants' view from behind.

He turned his head, his eyes now turned into vertical pupils, fiercely warning everyone while releasing his powerful pressure.

Like Luka, his mental power was SSS-rank, only Zongfang's mental power was colder and more overbearing.

"Get out, all of you."

Accompanied by a low roar, the assistants were so scared they scrambled to escape the scene.

Qiao Suisui, on the contrary, felt a sense of relief, because the humiliation of being stripped naked in public had almost made her unable to hold on. Relaxing now, she felt her whole body go weak; plus, her belly had grown a bit larger, and she felt tired after standing for just a short while.

Her legs went soft, and she was caught by Zongfang with quick reflexes.

The buttons had been undone until only the last two remained, but he stopped and didn't continue, only supporting her lower back, feeling the softness and warmth of the person in his arms.

He gently pulled her forward, and Qiao Suisui was caught off guard as she pressed against his chest.

"Your body is so soft, yet your temper is so hard."

He twisted her hands behind her back, the man's large hand easily grabbing both her wrists. Qiao Suisui struggled reflexively, her shoulder strap slipped, revealing a large expanse of spring scenery.

Selling matches, is anyone coming to buy my matches? It's so cold, can you warm me up with your tips, comments, and recommendation votes?

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 18 =====